MotoGP 2018

**Dadpole** · 19th July 2018, 21:26

Not that young Karel is a roadblock though. He has put in a few good performances finishing ahead of what you could call 'paid' riders. I really rate Bautista though and would love to see him on a more competitive bike. He would be goos in WSBK but I would rather see him beside Morbidelli in the real series.

**Autech** · 19th July 2018, 21:36

Originally Posted by Dadpole

Not that young Karel is a roadblock though. He has put in a few good performances finishing ahead of what you could call 'paid' riders. I really rate Bautista though and would love to see him on a more competitive bike. He would be goos in WSBK but I would rather see him beside Morbidelli in the real series.

What it comes down to is too many good riders and too few bikes to field them.
One of em needs to go give Rea a run for his money.

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**BMWST?** · 19th July 2018, 22:04

Originally Posted by Autech

What it comes down to is too many good riders and too few bikes to field them.
One of em needs to go give Rea a run for his money.

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The kawasaki is a very good bike And rea is a very good rider.No one can challenge him though it seems like the Yamaha is coming good.The Ducati seems like a real handful this year.The past few years Davies has had the speed to challenge Rea on occasions but seems on the absolute limit to do so.This year no one can get near JR...Its a little bit boring

**SaferRides** · 19th July 2018, 23:20

Originally Posted by Autech

Yeah according to his race report the soft front was fine for JL it was the rear that cost him. He is the rider most likely to take it to MM for the rest of the year for sure, can't wait to see them both on the Honda.

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According to my understanding of what MM was saying, the left side of the soft lasted better than the medium. Of course, he takes the time in practice to find out this shit.

If you have VideoPass or the race recorded somewhere, have a look at his rear tyre in parc ferme. The shot is of the right side, but it looks in great condition.

**Autech** · 20th July 2018, 11:43

Originally Posted by SaferRides

According to my understanding of what MM was saying, the left side of the soft lasted better than the medium. Of course, he takes the time in practice to find out this shit.

If you have VideoPass or the race recorded somewhere, have a look at his rear tyre in parc ferme. The shot is of the right side, but it looks in great condition.

The problem for everyone else was MM was in the 21s on his 3rd lap of FP1 or some crazy shit. So basically while everyone was chasing set up and laptimes, he spent the whole 2 days perfecting his riding and bike to go the distance. His base set up on the Honda this year is brilliant so he's not trying to turn the bike inside out to make it competitive every FP.

**WALRUS** · 20th July 2018, 13:07

Originally Posted by BMWST?

The kawasaki is a very good bike And rea is a very good rider.No one can challenge him though it seems like the Yamaha is coming good.The Ducati seems like a real handful this year.The past few years Davies has had the speed to challenge Rea on occasions but seems on the absolute limit to do so.This year no one can get near JR...Its a little bit boring

I'm looking forward to see what Bologna can offer in the Panigale V4-R which I think is supposed to be released to race next year? They've had to lop 100cc off the engine to get it homologated for WSBK so yeah, that could be interesting. I hope it delivers what the factory and series need to get rid of all that green everywhere!

Anywho, back to MotoGP chat!

**pritch** · 20th July 2018, 20:53

Originally Posted by Autech

Bautista apparently was put wrong by the Ducati engineers on which direction to go, they turned the bike upside down and boom he's got the feel to ride it. Goes to show how silly the early silly season can be. TBH I don't remember any stand out performances by him in the time I have been watching, doesn't mean they weren't there he's just not stood out in the pack.

That said having Karel Abrahim keep his seat ahead of arguably more talented riders (including Bautista) due to his funding looks a bit shit for the sport with the grid shrinking next year.

Back in his days on the wee bikes Bautista was exciting, sometimes too much so - like when he looped a bike while celebrating his finishing place. The guy was very quick but he has never had a top package since. Like Shaun Harris said, you need the complete package. And very few get that.

Given the right kit, and the perception of a real chance, he could give the SBK tree a bloody good shake.

Abraham is a special case. A very special case. He can race until his dad gets pissed off paying.

**SaferRides** · 21st July 2018, 02:27

No one mentioned Bradley Smith finishing 10th? That was a pretty solid effort, although his teammate had a major brain explosion.

**carbonhed** · 21st July 2018, 18:17

Originally Posted by SaferRides

No one mentioned Bradley Smith finishing 10th? That was a pretty solid effort, although his teammate had a major brain explosion.

I thought about it and then I thought about Pol, Rins, Iannone and Millar all disappearing... and then I thought.... nah.

**pritch** · 25th July 2018, 20:47

https://www.crash.net/motogp/feature...les-revolution

**Mental Trousers** · 25th July 2018, 21:30

Originally Posted by pritch

https://www.crash.net/motogp/feature...les-revolution

Some clever bastards were involved in that. Get more bikes on the grid, then fiddle things under the guise of making the slow bikes competitive and eventually pushing out rules for a single class where the entire field qualifies within 2 seconds and last place in the race is only 1/2 a lap behind. And, they're still breaking track records. I'm sure the factories are a quietly annoyed they got manipulated, but it was to the benefit of everyone including them.

**pritch** · 28th July 2018, 13:27

So while we wait for the GP riders to finish their holidays there is the Suzuka Eight Hour this weekend. Mr Rea has set the paddock abuzz with an unofficial lap record nine tenths under Pol Espagero's existing record in the second practice session. He was not on qualifying tyres. Suzuka has a true "Superpole" qualifying - one bike on the track at a time. Be interesting to see what Mr Rea can do with that.

Three of the Japanese manufacturers have a full factory team entered this year, as well as the normal factory supported teams. I don't know where we can get TV coverage but Asphalt and Rubber have people on the ground in Suzuka and are promising frequent updates.

https://www.asphaltandrubber.com/rac...w/#more-154527

**pritch** · 28th July 2018, 21:01

So much for the Super Pole! There is a typhoon creating some problems for the organisers, so they have reportedly switched to a forty minute qualifying session. Here's hoping the typhoon doesn't get too close.